Chan encourages Christians to know their identity in the body of Christ

Alan Chan (’84), pastor of Mandarin Baptist Church in Los Angeles, encouraged a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary chapel audience to know their identity in Christ; otherwise, “you will suffer spiritual loss in so many ways and fail to fully experience the abundant life Jesus has promised to all His sheep.”

In his introduction of the speaker, seminary President David S. Dockery noted that Chan, a Southwestern alumnus, is among almost 300 people attending the Chinese Baptist Fellowship’s biennial conference on the seminary’s campus. Dockery added that Chan’s church has been a great support for the seminary’s Chinese program and for the students in that program.

Chan also presented the Sept. 8 chapel address and started with a confession.

“I am sweating,” he said. “Not just because of the Texas heat, but because [of] what I call the ‘triple tremble’ I’m going through.” Chan explained that he was trembling because he was preaching from the pulpit in the historic Truett Auditorium; preaching to “a group of mighty saints, the Southwesterners; and I’m trembling because I’m preaching the Word of God.”

Preaching from Romans 12:3-5, Chan titled his address, “Who Am I?” and said it was “my personal journey of self-discovery, or you could say, a testimony of my life of service.”

Reading from Romans 12:3, Chan notes that Paul is warning Christians to not think of themselves more highly than they ought. He then noted that Aristotle said knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.

“It is a wise saying, but it’s only half true, and we all know that half true is not the truth at all,” Chan said.

Knowing yourself begins from knowing and fearing God, he said, adding he is one of many members of the body of Christ and must not think of himself as higher or lower than what God created him to be.

“The trouble is, we always tend to swing between two errors,” Chan said. “Either we think of ourselves as too important, or we think of ourselves as not important enough. Both are wrong.” We are created by God in His image, he said, adding, “That is our worth; not more, not less.”

Continuing in the passage from Romans, Chan noted that though we are many members of the same body of Christ, not all members have the same function.

“God doesn’t make duplicates,” he said, pointing out that no two people share the same fingerprint or DNA. “By design, you are uniquely and unmistakably you.”

He said 1 Corinthians 12 reminds us that each part of the body has a distinct function.

“Stop comparing yourself to other parts of the body,” Chan said. “The ear was never created to see, just like the eye was never meant to hear. Stop wishing for a role you were never designed to play, but instead, focus on doing what God created you to do.

“You are who you are,” he added. “Find your place in the body of Christ and serve there faithfully, because the body only works when each part is faithful to what God made it to be.”

Chan noted that as many different members of one body, Christians are both independent and interdependent. “Each one of us [is] accountable to God,” he said. “Each one gifted. Each one called. But then we are also interdependent, leading one another, leaning on one another, carrying on each other’s burdens.”

Southern Baptists are people “of the mission, for the mission, and actively on mission,” he said, adding the Great Commission “is not someone else’s responsibility. It is uniquely ours. Together we are better. Together we are stronger. One body in Christ; we work together and we will finish the task of the Great Commission.”

Chan closed with a personal story, noting his church in Los Angeles is an ethnic Chinese church that worships in three different languages each Sunday: two Chinese services (one in Mandarin; one in Cantonese), and a service in English. Years ago, Chan said, he was given the opportunity to serve as the English pastor.

“Now, as you can tell, I’m not a native English speaker,” Chan said with a smile. “And being a non-native English speaker pastor, I struggled. I struggled a lot, especially when it came to preaching in English.

“One day, I went online to listen to a recording of my own sermon,” he added. “[After] less than two minutes, and could be even shorter, I turned it off. I just sat there wondering, how in the world could a group of young people … [be] willing to sit and listen to this guy Sunday after Sunday?”

Unexpectedly, he said, the church’s attendance for the English service grew by leaps and bounds. He attributed the growth to God’s blessing the ministry, but added that he felt like the wrong person for the job. Then one day he received an e-card from someone telling him he was God’s person doing His work at His place and time.

“You know, many of us try so hard to be somebody,” Chan said. “We waste so much energy, so much time trying to fit into someone else’s image of who we should be. What matters most is becoming the person God called you to be. Living as His person is the best gift you can ever offer Him.”

The entire chapel message can be viewed here. Chapel is held in the Truett Auditorium at 11 a.m. (CT) every Tuesday and Thursday and can be streamed live at swbts.live.